‘Vital’ signs

Eleven years in, and few alternative bands can claim the sort of consistent success and stability that Anberlin has. With six successful studio albums and tours with 30 Seconds to Mars and Taking Back Sunday under its belt, the group has enjoyed a smooth ride.

“A lot of bands can’t keep together a year, let alone 10,” lead singer Stephen Christian said. “It’s really cool, and I feel really lucky. We’re all five equals. Whatever one gets, the other gets. It’s beyond people in a band. It’s a brotherhood, and people don’t want to leave that.”

But if anything negative comes out of consistency, it’s tediousness, which is why the Florida five-piece — much like a married couple — is shaking things up; Anberlin currently is on an acoustic tour, stopping Friday at The Conservatory.

“It seems like we play the same songs and the same sets for years on end,” Christian said. “We don’t feel challenged in our own music anymore. On top of that, we wanted to give fans something different. It feels a lot more instant.”

The shake-up doesn’t stop there, either. A similar mindset took Anberlin into its sixth album, Vital, which hit shelves in late 2012. The title choice wasn’t an arbitrary one.

“It was a goal,” Christian said. “It wasn’t supposed to be the title; we just set out with that in mind: to make a vital record … something vibrant and alive. We accomplished that.”

Vitalreceived some of the group’s most positive reviews to date, which Christian claims is due to the return to longtime producer/collaborator Aaron Sprinkle (Relient K, Deftones) and an extended stay in the studio.

“We allowed ourselves to explore, be it horns, electronics or just distortion pedals,” Christian said. “We did whatever we felt like doing, and we had the time to afford that.”

Already, Anberlin aches to get back to recording, eying some time later this year after fall’s trip across the pond with The Maine. Still, Anberlin can rest easy — if it so chooses — knowing the alt-rock outfit made the mark it wanted.

“When you look back in time, there’s got to be that record you go back and show people,” Christian said. “We wanted to make that record that Anberlin fans in the future would use as a gateway for new listeners … and I think we have.”